New Player - Advice

[gtcooke94]

I recently picked up a huge amount of cards at a garage sale for $12 (seems like a good deal to me). 4 Binders full. Here's a picture - http://i.imgur.com/73Mo434.jpg

The cards are pretty well organized and such, so I guess I'm really asking for advice on how to get started with it.
I play Magic a LOT, so I'm not new to TCGs or anything, but I'm not really even sure where I should start with building a deck.

[neopium]

First thing you should do: pack everything nicely and send it to France, I would buy it for $24 ;-)

Just kidding (am I?).

First thing you should do, especially if the cards are well organized, is to see from what collections you have cards.

In LOTR, there are two main sets of cards: the "Movie block" (cards with first digit at the bottom right lower or equal to 10) and the "post-shadows" (11 and above). Identify what is your collection composed of, and you will find what kind of deck you can build.

Then, I would advice to have a look at Gemp http://www.gempukku.com/gemp-lotr/, see a few games corresponding to the formats where you have cards and copy a few deck you like (you can search on this forum for ideas as well). After a few tens of games, you will start to know the game and your collection better and can start to enjoy it :-)

Have fun

[gtcooke94]

So I found out, they are organized a lot better than I thought. The bottom right is set number - rarity - collectors number I assume? They are sorted like that. I have a lot of set 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10.

Just curious, is there anything particularly valuable in these that I should use sleeves with if I decide to play (I don't really plan on selling these, I want to try to play the game before I sell them).

I don't really even know where to get started with building a deck either. I guess I should read the rules a few more times. One word I'm super confused on is "spot." A lot of cards will say something to the effect of, "spot x to do y." How do you spot something?

[gordie124]

As far as getting started building a deck,

I would recommend for your first deck limiting yourself to cards from only sets 1, 2 & 3 (known collectively as "Fellowship block"), or even from just set 1. I find these cards have, in general, simpler rules and ways of interacting with each other.

On these forums there are a lot of custom decks that people have shared, that you could look at to get an idea of what an average deck might look like. The archived Cobra Cards forums (http://lotrtcgwiki.com/community/) are also a good place to look. Find a decklist that looks fun, make it in gemp, and try it out!

"Spot X" means "an X must be in play and active" — For instance, to play Fror from your hand, you must already have a Dwarf on the table. Otherwise you can't play Fror. The very-detailed "Comprehensive Rules Document" can be found here: http://lotrtcgwiki.com/rules/comprehensive.pdf (although warning — the rules it details for playing sites were written after the release of set 11; ie those particular rules will not apply to the cards you own).

[bibfortuna25]

Also keep an eye out for rare cards, ones that have "xRxxx" as their collector info. These cards are more valuable and generally more powerful for your decks. Good rares to look for would be Legolas, Greenleaf, Aragorn ROTN, Servant of the Secret Fire, Goblin Armory, Hides, Simbelmyne, Desert Lord, Easterling Captain, Power According To His Stature, Eomer TMOR, Flaming Brand, and Savagery to Match Their Numbers, just to name a few.

[sgtdraino]

I suggest you check out Gemp:

http://www.gempukku.com/gemp-lotr/hall.html

It's a site where you can play online for free with people all over the world. Here you can practice putting a deck together and playing with it, without having to handle your actual collection.

For someone starting out, I suggest Fellowship Block format. It is the simplest of all the game formats, and good for beginners just starting to learn the mechanics of the game. Someone on Gemp would be happy to talk you through how the game is played, I'm sure.

[gtcooke94]

I read the rulebook pdf that was posted on here. Anything else I should do? One thing I'm confused on is this:
I don't have a starter deck, so the starting fellowships mean nothing to me. What are the limitations on starting fellowships? Also, are they a part of your 60 card deck?

[gordie124]

Your starting fellowship is comprised of any number of companions whose twilight costs adds up to 4. Frodo is always in your starting fellowship [this rule only applies to sets 1-10], and he doesn't count in having an equal number of shadow/free peoples cards. The rest of your fellowship however do.

So a sample deck might have 30 shadow cards, 30 free peoples cards [which includes a starting fellowship of Legolas, Greenleaf and Gimli, Son of Gloin (2 + 2 = 4)], one copy of Frodo, one copy of the One Ring, and 9 sites. Note also that the number of freeps/shadow can be more than 30 if you like, so long as they are equal.

[bibfortuna25]

If your deck is 30/30, and your starting fellowship is Legolas and Gimli, then by the time you have shuffled the rest together, your deck will then be 28/30.

[gtcooke94]

And you can have more actual people in your deck, right (like, more than your starting fellowship)? My brother is finally home and we are going to try to play this some.

And thanks for all the help guys, this game looks really awesome!

[Air Power]

And you can have more actual people in your deck, right (like, more than your starting fellowship)? My brother is finally home and we are going to try to play this some.

And thanks for all the help guys, this game looks really awesome!

Yes, you can have as many companions in your deck as you want, but there is the rule of 9: the total number of companions you have in play and in your dead pile cannot go over 9.

Play companions from hand during your fellowship phase.